Omaha daily bee., 1887-10-01
TOM HUGHES IN AUSTRALIA.
Colonel Tom 0chiltree Tells Some Inter.
esting Things Of Noted Bushranger,
MAN OF LUCK AND GRIT.
The Ups and Downs of His Career
How a Pol,cehsan's Bullet Inter-
rupted His ExpIotts-Baggcd
by a Sawed or Gun.

New York Sun: Col Tom Ochltree
sat in the barroom of the Hoffman yes
terday drinking champagne with friend,
when reporter came in.
"Say, Tom Hughes has been bagged,"
he remarked to reporter. He was much
surprised to learn that the reporter was
no; acquainted with Mr. Hughes.
why, he was at one time one
of the first citizens of benson,
Why, everybody in Texas and
every other state must have known Tom
Hughes. But let me tell you, his capture
was accomplished only because of his
hard luck, and hard luck was an infre-
quent incident in the picturesque life OF
one of the old-time spirits that fifteen or
twenty years ago gave zest to life in
this country.
Tom was a native of England, but he
came over the western ocean at the age
of sixteen, Just after the close of the war
between the states. He tloated along
out to the western states gradually,
working at whatever came to hand until
he had few dollars in pocket, when he
would move on. He is said to have
blackcd boots in New York city,
worked IN grain elevator in Buffalo,
showed lumber into planning mill in Sag
inaw, roughed it with the lumber men in
northern Michigan, served rs a porter IN
table in river side restaurant i'll st.
Louis, and kept an eating booth under
tent ON the bank of the Missouri in Kan
sas City. From Kansas City he went to
Fort Scott. 1t was here that he first got
his name in the papers, and also, so far
| as known, began to associate with Grim
inals.
1.-The only timber around Fort Scott is
to be found along the creek bottom.
Here there is a prodigious growth of
| young oaks. 1t was one of Toms fancieS
| to 60 walking on Sunday morning
among the oaks. About the third Sunday
| trip of this kind he made he found him
self in a little opening. at about 10
| O'Clock in the forenoon, with three men
| in front of hlm, one of whom was point
ing II revolver fair at his head and tell.
ing him in blood-curding tones TO hold
up his hands and keep 'em well up. too,'
an order which Hughes made haste to
obey. 1t was related afterward by the
survivor of tho party that Hughes seemed
to be the 'wuSt scarf tenderfOOt We ever
see, but he was stackin' the kyards fer us
shameful ri
:" Hughes, with his knees knocking to
| gether and lower jaw dropping, kept his
hands up, but they were Hopping about
in way that made the man with the
pistol laugh He couldn't help turning
his head n minute to remark to one of the
men with him that he never see sch a
- idjit,' but ne never said anything
else after that The moment his eye got
around to his companion Hughes shak-
ing right hand dropped down on the butt
| of u revolver some where about his cloth
ing, and even before the robber saw the
motion Hughes sent a bullet through his
heart. He shot one of the others with
the next pull of the trigger, and then
told the third to hold up his hands and
make tracks toward Fort Scott, which
was done lnstanter.
Hughes, boy that he was, became
the IDOL of the town. The citizens made
up a purse, bought him q beautiful re
watch and no end of stuff which were
presented to him with great speech
making. Three months later some one
sawed the iron bars out of the county
iail so that Greg. Kimme, the robber
Hughes had captured, could escape, and
Hughes and Johnnie Reid, a flash gam
bier of the place. disappeared. 1t was
pretty PLAIN that Reid had determined to
turn Hughes nerve to account and had
taken Kimmel along. No one was sur
prised, therefore, when news came a
month later that party of three was
having great luck holding up stages in
southern Arkansas.
But the road was not at that time q
favorite with either REID or Hughes.
hughes was an apt pupil. They only
took the road when down on their luck.
Hughes appearance and nerve made
him the best faro dealer in the west ut
that time. He had an honest look and II
careless bearing, but no one ever got the
drop on hlm over card table.
"He was prodigal of his gains, too, and
thus got a wide reputation for generosity,
1t is said that one night while he was
dealing down in Denison young fellow
from New York, who had blown in all
his wealth, became desperate, and draw.
ing revolver aimed 1t ut his own head,
intending to kill himself. Hughes, who
a pistol saw this. Without 4 moments
hesitation he picked his revolver from
the table and sent bullet through the
would.be suicides hand just in time to
turn the pistol aside. That ended the
thoughts of suicide. Then Hughes had
the young man cared for and when he
had recovered from the wound gave him
81. 600 and some good advice and sen,
him home.
But there came time, as II always
does, when luck deserted young Hughes
He and two others started in to hold up 8
stage not far from TeXarcana. Hughe.
had the drop on the driver as straight a
a string with one pistol, while he covered
= a quiet gentleman on the stage seat witt
another. But the moment Hughes stepped
7 out of the cover the quiet gentlemar
, got one of those Internal sawed of sho
l guns out from under the duster or some
1 other unlikely place and let drive TIVE
} big loads of bucksh0t at the covey, bag
ging the whole three. He never wonl'
have done it only the cartridge in Hughes
pistol failed to 90 oil. Hard luck, WASH
it?
4 "Wcll, Hughes wasn't dead, but th'
+. other two were. Hughes had three o
;, four buckshots in him, one of them rlgh
/ in the right lung, but he pulled through
4 and then got ten years for the job at Lit
e tie Rock. think he served about si
= months and then skipped, and that's tn
h last we ever saw of Mr.. Hughes IN tn
, west
/ "The next we learned of him was IN
r letter one of the boys got from Australia
) There was nothing in 1t but newspape
4 clipping, and that related to the most re
/. cent achievement of daring bushrange
| br